Aeroflot to change image-and prices...

[bigdelta 46]

MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- Russian flag carrier OAO Aeroflot plans change its image and logo to attract more customers and will increase ticket prices, the company's commercial director, Evgeniy Bachurin, said Wednesday.

He said that Aeroflot's bad image is costing it tens of millions of dollars in lost profit a year.

 

"We know that we are not worse than our competitors in terms of service or food, but customers still give us worse grades because of our image," Bachurin said.

 

He said flight ticket prices will gradually increase by 5% to 10% and that business and first-class tickets will be affected most by the increase.

 

"Some 80% of the customers we asked, said they would agree to pay more for the ticket if the service was improved," Bachurin said.

 

Aeroflot has hired a U.K. consulting firm Identica Ltd. to work out new logo and color scheme for the company and organize a new uniform design. Identica has worked on brands such as Chivas Regal and Johnny Walker whiskies, as well as companies Vodafone PLC , Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE - News) and Finnair Oyj .

 

Bachurin said that he will be able to estimate the investment required for the change of image by the middle of next year.

 

The first flight of the "new image" Aeroflot, with the new style interior, menu and "more caring and polite staff," will be made at the start of the year to New York, then to Tokyo and Europe.

 

Aeroflot, notoriously famous for bad food and rude in-flight attendants in the Soviet Union era, has been trying hard to improve its image in the past four years, even launching a campaign with a slogan "we don't smile because we are serious about making you happy."

 

:-/

[Captain_C 28]

I've been told they are to introduce a new in-flight meal called 'Cabbage Surprise'

The surprise is there won't be any cabbage in it.

[erikaya 0]

Hi capt.Colin.But I think its better than the crewbox we

got in the 80-90 on cont.flights at your parent company.

1 white-1rye roll with ham and cheese.some very fresh

peanuts or cashew,1 pc of fruit,and as much of that

very fine tea or coffee,freshly brewed. :-/

ex F/O erik 737. now on heavy

greetings  erik

[Gordon 0]

I don't know which Russian airline was involved in the following folly. The excerpt I believe appeared in an article in the Far Eastern Economic review :

 

“COLD COMFORT: Russian tourists were amazed to step out of a Thailand-bound flight and discover that it was a cold, snowy country. After a six-hour journey, they wandered around taking pictures of the chilly vista. "They were shocked to see so much snow," Pravda reported. In fact the pilot, troubled by problems with one engine during the journey, had turned around and flown back to Russia without telling any of the 350 passengers. "

 

Gordon

[Kew 0]

I flew AeroFLOP one time out of absolute necessity. Amsterdam to Moscow to HK. On each of the two legs I was served a hard roll, a piece of hard cheese wrapped in wax paper, and a pint of warm vodka in an unmarked bottle. I referrred to the airline, for years, as "Air Gulag." They will have a hard time building a client base that is not Russian.

 

Kew

[Sved 0]

From what I hear they have improved the food so its basically ok, not any highlights but really not much worse then most other companies.

 

But the staff at both the Moscow airport and the flight attendants are said to be a throwback from the cold war.

 

And going to/from Thailand you often get to wait at Moscow airport like 5-10 hours or overnight,